byStuart WeirThe amazing race that Charlotte Purdue ran in London was inspiring to many of us in the media, not the least for the fact that she had taken much of the frustration at not being selected for the Tokyo Olympic team and put it into a two plus minute PB, becoming the third fastest Brit in history with her 2:23.26!
This is Stuart Weir’s heartfelt salute to Charlotte Purdue. Now she has to decide between WC Eugene 2022, Commonwealth Games and European Games.
Charlotte Purdue, 2:23.26, tenth in 2021 London, photo by Virgin Money London communications
The outstanding British performances in the London Marathon were by David Weir and Charlotte Purdue. Weir in his 22nd London Marathon outsprinted Brent Lakatos to take third place in the men’s wheelchair race. He said that he was tempted to call it a day after Tokyo but could not resist another London Marathon. None of the GB men or women who had run the Olympic marathon in August were in the field.
Charlie Purdue was delighted to finish 10th in a time of 2:23.36 and was gracious although clearly happy to take a point to the selectors who had omitted her from the GB Olympic team although her performances seemed to support her inclusion. She said that she knew she was in good shape and that she was delighted to produce the performance she was capable of, adding: “This was my Olympics. I think I should have been in the Olympic team but I had to put it behind me and focus on London”.
Savoring a huge PB, Charlotte Purdue, photo by Virgin Money London Marathon
First Brit home guarantees her selection for the 2022 World Championships (or indeed the European Championships or Commonwealth Games in next year’s busy summer).
Purdue ran the first half of the race with Eilish McColgan who was there as a pacemaker for elite GB runners. Purdue’s time was a big PR, putting her No.3 on the UK all-time rankings Just short of Mara Yamauchi’s all-time No. 2 mark of 2:23:12. Yamauchi who was sixth in the 2008 Olympics and also once second in London, commented on Twitter that Purdue would get her next time!
Charlotte Purdue takes tenth, in PB 2:23.26! photo by Virgin Money London Marathon
The second British female finisher was Rose Harvey with 2:29:45, followed by Samantha Harrison with 2:32:22, Natasha Cockram with 2:32:32 and Becky Briggs with 2:34:34.
Earlier this week a London police officer was jailed for life for kidnapping – pretending to arrest – a young woman before raping and murdering her. Purdue took the opportunity to comment on the issues of women’s safety, saying: “My parents have always told me never to run alone outside in the evenings. Even now I wouldn’t run alone at night. It is something I have never done”. She added that on the occasions she did an evening run her coach had followed her in the car as a safety precaution.
There were four British men in the top 10 – albeit a long way behind the top three. Philip Sesemann was seventh in 2:12:58 followed by Josh Griffiths (2:13:39) and Matt Leach (2:15:31) with Andrew Davies tenth in 2:15:36. Seseman, who works part-time as a junior hospital doctor, was delighted with his debut marathon performance in a time inside the qualifying standard for next year’s Commonwealth Games and European Championships. He struggled with the wind in the second half of the race having looked as if he would finished in an even faster time.
